


Finding You

by AnnaOnTheMoon



Series: Stargazer Era [1]
Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: 2350s, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Mourning, Stargazer era, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-21
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2019-06-14 00:13:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15376482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnaOnTheMoon/pseuds/AnnaOnTheMoon
Summary: After Jack dies, Jean-Luc takes off.  Walker finds him and convinces him to return to Beverly.





	Finding You

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure yet if this is a one-shot or the beginning of a story.

Wesley tugged on his mother’s hand at the end of his father’s funeral. “Mommy, where did Uncle Jean-Luc go?”  Beverly frowned.  Jean-Luc had been standing next to her throughout the burial and then suddenly, he was gone.  She turned to their other friend, Walker Keel. “Wally?  What happened to Jean-Luc?”

“Johnny?  Ah...I don’t know. Didn’t he say goodbye to you?”  She shook her head.  “I’m sorry, Bev.”  He placed a comforting hand on her back and she turned into him and cried into his chest.  “I just thought....it would be easier if Jean-Luc was here with me.  Wally...I need him.” 

“Shh, I know.  You need your friends with you.  I promise, I’ll stay as long as you need me to.”  Beverly smiled. “Thanks, but I meant I need Jean-Luc. He.....I....”  Beverly’s face crumbled again. 

“Let’s get you and Wesley back to the house.  Change into something comfortable. I’ll get dinner together for you.”

“Thank you, Walker.”

###

Beverly stared at the dark red liquid and glanced at the label on the bottle.  “Figures.”

“What does?”

“This wine _would_ be one of Jean-Luc’s.” Walker grinned. “Are we allowed to drink any other vineyard?”  Beverly snorted. 

“And you still don’t know where he is? It’s been weeks.” 

“No. I’m sorry.  I thought he might have returned to his ship, but I talked with Gilaad and he isn’t there.”  Walker tried to give Beverly an encouraging smile. “But you’re alright, right?  I mean...you don’t need Johnny, do you?” 

“I....I don’t know, Wally.  I....I love Jean-Luc.  Not that I didn’t love Jack in some way. I mean, I was married to Jack and we have a child together but Jean-Luc is my...no, I won’t go there.” 

“Beverly, are you saying Jean-Luc is your soulmate?” Beverly nodded with tears streaming down her face.  “Yeah. The night he came over after Jack’s death and he held me while I slept...it was the first night I slept and felt content.  And Wesley...well...You know how much Wes loves him.  Asked more for Uncle Jean-Luc to visit than his own father most of the time.” 

“Aw, I’m sorry, Bev.  Look, let me go back to my quarters and I’ll continue to look for you, alright?”  Beverly tearfully nodded. “I don’t think I’ll be whole again until he’s here.”

###

“Damn it Johnny!”  Walker slammed his hand on his small desk.  He had tried every avenue he could think of over the course of the past few weeks, short of contacting Admiral Quinn, to find Jean-Luc.  He had left messages on the _Stargazer_ , at his quarters he had on campus, and he even left a message for him at the vineyard in case he went there.  Walker pushed his chair away and went to his replicator to get himself a cup of coffee before flopping onto the sofa.  He didn’t even pretend to understand what was going on between Jean-Luc and Beverly, but he gathered that was why Jean-Luc had left.  He sighed.

He knew Jean-Luc had feelings for Beverly.  He had known for years, since before Beverly and Jack had even got engaged.  But Jean-Luc had chosen not to reveal his feelings to the woman, not wanting to get in the way of her relationship....the relationship he thought she had wanted to have. 

Walker was beginning to have doubts about Beverly’s relationship she had with Jack and wondered if Beverly had only married Jack because she had become pregnant...even though she could have raised Wesley on her own.  He frowned. He supposed now she _would_ have to raise Wesley on her own.  He wondered what Jack had been thinking when he volunteered to go out on that spacewalk. He had to know that it was potentially suicidal.  But, he had insisted on going, even after Jean-Luc had reminded him about Beverly and Wesley.  In fact, Jack had even told Jean-Luc he knew he would look after them if anything happened. 

Had....had Jack _known_? 

###

It had taken another three weeks, but Walker had finally tracked Jean-Luc down.  It seemed he had taken some of his accumulated leave and gone travelling. Fortunately, even with the entire quadrant at his disposal, Jean-Luc had remained on Earth, and Walker found him at the hotel they had stayed at years ago in London.  Walker had camped out in the lobby, waiting for his friend to return. 

“Walker? What are you doing here?”  Jean-Luc reached out and clapped his old friend on the back.

“Johnny!  I’ve been looking for you everywhere.  Listen, Bev needs you.”  He shook his head.  “No, Walker.  I can’t.” 

“Johnny, why not?”  Jean-Luc sighed.  “Drink?”

“Sure.”  He followed his oldest friend to the hotel bar and when they both had tumblers of Whisky, Jean-Luc spoke.  “Walker, I can’t go see Beverly because I’m in love with her.”

“I know you are. But Johnny....I think she loves you too.”  Jean-Luc shook his head. “She doesn’t.  She probably hates me.  Her husband died under my command. On _my_ orders! She can’t possibly...”

“But she does.  Johnny, what did you do the night you went to her house?”  Jean-Luc studied the rim of his glass.  “I held her while she slept.  But Wesley was in the bed with us, too.  I wouldn’t....I could’t...I would never do anything to hurt her.” 

“Well...you did.”  Jean-Luc looked up at his friend sharply.  “What?”

“When you left.  Beverly is hurting, Johnny.  She needs you.  Please....please go to her. Wesley needs you, too.”

“Alright. I’ll go. But...no guarantees that she actually wants me there.” 

“I guarantee you she does.  Go get your bag.  I booked us seats on the next shuttle.” 

###

Jean-Luc adjusted his bag on his shoulder and slowly approached the door to Beverly’s home.  Was he doing the right thing?  He knocked, and when there was no response, he opened the door with the key Beverly had given him years ago.  He walked inside and he found Beverly sitting on the sofa, wrapped in a tartan blanket.  He could hear the noises of Wesley playing in his bedroom. Jean-Luc dropped his bag and walked around the coffee table to stand in front of Beverly.  He sat down on the coffee table and reached for her hands. “Beverly?”

“Jean-Luc?  Are you really here?” 

“Yeah,  I’m here.” 

“Hold me?”  Jean-Luc laid down on the sofa behind Beverly and pulled her against him. She adjusted the blanket to cover the both of them and he pressed a kiss to the back of her head. “How long has it been since you had a decent night’s sleep?” 

“Since you were here.”  He kissed her hair again. “Sleep. We’ll talk later.” 

Beverly shifted in her sleep so she was facing Jean-Luc with her head on his chest when Wesley came downstairs. “Uncle Jean-Luc!”  He started to shout,  then turned it into a whisper when Jean-Luc pressed a finger to his lips.  “Is Mommy sleeping?”  Jean-Luc tightened his grip around Beverly before answering in a whisper. 

“Yeah, buddy.  She is.” 

“I’m hungry.  I know how to use the replicator.  Can I get a sandwich?”  Jean-Luc nodded. “ _Just_ a sandwich and a glass of milk.  _No cookies_.”  Wesley frowned.  “What if it’s a sandwich cookie?”

“No.  We’ll have cookies later.  For now, get yourself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a glass of milk.“ He watched Wesley walk away towards the kitchen and he listened to Wesley order his food to make sure he only asked it for a sandwich and milk and he let his eyes drift shut with his arms still tightly holding Beverly to him.

Jean-Luc woke up when Wesley patted his shoulder.  “Hmm?”

“Uncle Jean-Luc,  it’s bedtime.”  Jean-Luc looked  up at the clock on Beverly’s mantle. “Hmm. So it is.”

“I hafta take a bath.  I can do the water, but Mommy doesn’t let me do the bubbles.”  Jean-Luc nodded at the boy.  “Alright.  You go upstairs and get your pyjamas out.  I’ll be up in a minute to help you with the bath, alright?”  Wesley nodded. 

Jean-Luc gently roused Beverly. “Wha?  Jean-Luc! I...” she blushed. “Shhh.”  Jean-Luc placed a chaste kiss on her lips. “Wesley ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for dinner and he’s just informed me he needs a bath before bedtime.”  Beverly grinned and slowly sat up. “I had better go help him.”

“No,  I’ll do it.” 

“Are you sure?”  Jean-Luc nodded. “I’m sure.”  Beverly stretched and her back cracked. “Ugh, sleeping on the sofa was probably a bad idea.  Bed later?”  Jean-Luc grinned. “Is that an invitation?”

“Mm-hmm,” she paused. “ Thank you.”

“For?”

“Coming back.”  He brushed her hair out of her face and gently cupped it. “Anything for you, love. But we’ll talk later?”  She nodded. “I’ll get us something light to eat?  Want some tea?”  Jean-Luc nodded. “I never turn down the offer of a cup.”

Jean-Luc climbed the stairs and heard giggling, but it wasn’t coming from the bathroom, and the water wasn’t running.  He walked into Wesley’s room and saw the child had put his pyjamas out on his bed, but he was nowhere to be seen.  “Hmm, I wonder where Wesley is?”  Jean-Luc called out.  “He’s not in his bedroom or the bathroom....is he in his mommy’s room?”  Jean-Luc deliberately strode over to Beverly’s bedroom and poked his head in, despite the giggles coming from the room he always used when he visited.  “Nope, no Wesley in here.  Is he in the hall closet?”  Jean-Luc whipped open the door so it made a loud noise, and the giggles increased.  “Hmm. Not here either.  I know, he must be in my bedroom....”  Jean-Luc pushed open the door to the guest room slowly, amidst the giggling.  Wesley flew out from behind the door, naked.  “Haha I tricked you!” 

“Sure did, buddy. Why are you naked?” 

“For my bath.  Duh, Uncle Jean-Luc.”   Wesley ran out into the hallway and wiggled his naked rear.  Jean-Luc swooped down on the boy and picked him up, throwing him over his shoulder, making the boy giggle.  “Uncle Jean-Luc! Put me down!” 

“Down? Well, all right.”  Jean-Luc walked back into Wesley’s bedroom and tossed him on the bed.  Wesley laughed again.  “You’re silly.”

“ _I’m_ silly?  _You’re_ the one who’s parading around naked.  Come on, let’s get you bathed.” 

Downstairs, Beverly was making a pot of tea the old-fashioned way with a kettle and she smiled as she heard the shrieks of laughter from above.  It was the first time she had heard Wesley laugh in months.

###

Jean-Luc came back down 20 minutes later, grinning.  “He’s in bed with a book. I told him he could have the light on for twenty minutes, was that alright?  I remembered you usually give him twenty minutes to read....”

She smiled. “That’s perfect.  Thank you.” She passed him a cup of tea.  “I just did a cheese and meat platter. I wasn’t very hungry.  Unless you are?”  He shook his head. “This is wonderful.”  She turned her back to him to pick up the platter and he walked up behind her and wrapped his free arm around her waist and she leaned back into his embrace.  He abandoned his cup on the counter and wrapped his other arm around her and he gently turned her towards him. 

“Hi,” she softly said. “I don’t think I greeted you earlier.”  He chuckled and leaned over to kiss her cheek.  “It’s alright.  Are you feeling better?”

“Much.”  She leaned into his embrace and rested her  cheek against his shoulder.  “You’re here now.” 

“I am,”  he brought his face up to cup her cheek in a mirror of his earlier actions.  “Beverly, I...”

“Kiss me.”  Her request came out softly.  He grinned at her. “I kissed you earlier.” 

“Mm, not a proper kiss though.”  His lips touched hers and she wound her hand up to play with the hair on the back of his neck as she allowed him to deepen the kiss.  Jean-Luc backed her up against the kitchen counter and Beverly grinned against his lips when he picked her up and sat her on the counter.  She wrapped her legs around his hips and pulled him close.  Her fingers found the bottom of his shirt and she gently pulled it free and ran her hands up his back.  He shivered, then chuckled.  “Beverly?”

“Yeah?”

“We’re in your kitchen.”  She laughed. “So we are.” 

“Do you want to...take this someplace more comfortable?”

“You mean....like a bed?”  Jean-Luc flushed at her words. “Ah, if you want to?  I don’t want to...I don’t want to assume anything....”

“I want to.”  Beverly hopped down from the counter and grabbed his hand.

###

She tugged him into her bedroom and shut the door behind them before her lips were on his again.  She pulled his shirt off and ran her hands up and down his chest.  She pushed him back towards the bed and when the back of his knees hit the bed, she shoved him onto the bed and straddled him.  She reached for the hem of her own shirt and pulled it off and he ran his hands up her sides to cup her breasts.  She flung off her bra. Her hands went to his buckle and she paused. 

“I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for?”  He kissed her.  “I’m...attacking you.” 

“I’m not complaining, but do we need to talk first?”  Beverly rolled off of him and he turned to face her.  He wrapped his fingers in hers. “Tell me what’s on your mind.  But...could you put a shirt on? Your breasts are really distracting me. I just want to put my mouth on them.”  Beverly grinned, but stood up.  She shimmied out of her trousers and pulled a camisole out of a drawer before crawling back into bed. “Better?”  he growled low and nipped her throat.  “You have amazing legs.”  She laughed and shoved him away. 

“Thought you wanted to talk?”  He twined his fingers in hers once again and brought them to his lips.  “I don’t know if there will ever be an appropriate time to tell you...”

“I love you,” she blurted it out, then blushed. “Sorry.”  He ran his hand down her side. “Don’t be sorry.”

“I interrupted you.  That was rude of me.”  He grinned and rolled on top of her.  “It was.  What should I do to punish you for your terrible manners?”  He leaned down and kissed her again.  “I love you too.”

“Really?”  Beverly pushed him off of her so she could look at his face. “Yes, really.  I’ve loved you for years.” 

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You were dating Jack...then engaged...then married.  What was I going to do, Bev?  Pull you away from your husband?”

“I wish you would have.” 

“No you don’t,” he pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “It wouldn’t have been right.”

“I didn’t love Jack.”  She played with his chest hair and refused to meet his eyes.  “You don’t mean that.”

“I do.  I panicked when I found out I was pregnant.  When I told Jack his first reaction wasn’t exactly pleasant.”  Jean-Luc frowned.  His friend had not told him _that._ Jean-Luc had only been given the impression that his friend had been surprised.  Jean-Luc thought back on their conversation over six years ago. 

_“Johnny, can we talk?”  Jack stood in the doorway to Jean-Luc’s quarters and he beckoned his friend in.  “Sure, Jack.  Drink?”  Jack nodded and downed the glass in one gulp.  He held it out for another and Jean-Luc refilled his glass.  “Are you...ok?”_

_“Johnny...Bev’s pregnant.”  Jean-Luc raised his eyebrows and his heart broke a little at the news.  Out loud, he said “Congratulations” and clapped his friend on the back._

_“I don’t know what to do.  Bev said she’s keeping it. I guess...I should ask her to marry me, right?”  Jean-Luc choked on his drink.  “If you...if that’s what you want to do.”_

_“Yes.  I think so.  Oh my god, what if she doesn’t want to marry me?”_

_“Well...only one way to find out, Jack.”_

_“Yeah,” Jack grinned at his best friend.  “I better find her a ring!”_

Jean-Luc was pulled out of his musings by Beverly speaking. “When I told him, he bolted.  I don’t know where he went but he just ran from our quarters.” 

“He, ah...came to talk to me.  We drank and he told me you were pregnant and he said he was going to ask you to marry him.” 

“Out of duty.  You know how he proposed?  He handed me this ridiculous book.  _How to Advance Your Career Through Marriage,”_ she scoffed.  “It was the first thing I threw away after I was told he was dead. The second thing was my wedding ring.”  Jean-Luc turned her hand over in his.  He hadn’t even noticed her lack of a ring.  “You threw it out?”

“Well...not in the reclimator.  It’s in my jewellery box.  I didn’t know if Wesley might want  it someday.”  Jean-Luc nodded and kissed her fingers. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know...you _seemed_ happy....”

“It was a show.  Do you know, Jean-Luc, Wesley always asked for you to visit more than he would ask for his own father? I’m sure Jack was sleeping around on me.”

“No.  I mean, if he had been, I’m sure I would have found out and would have ripped him up for it.” She smiled. “Thanks. How did you do it?”

“Do what?”

“How did you stand there with us on the dais as we were married when you had feelings for me?” 

“There was a lot of drinking....but I only wanted you to be happy.  And I thought marrying Jack was making you happy.”

“Oh.”  She reached for his belt again and unhooked his trousers and he raised his eyebrows.  “What are you doing?”

“Getting you comfortable.” Jean-Luc lifted his hips so she could slide his trousers down and he kicked them off.  “Is that better?”  Beverly wrapped a leg around his. “Much.”  He kissed her again. 

“Why did you stay with Jack?  I’m sorry, was that an indelicate question?”  She shook her head.  “No.  I don’t know.  I guess for Wesley.  I thought he needed to have his father around and I was afraid if I left, Jack wouldn’t be in Wesley’s life,” she frowned. “Not like he was much in his life to begin with.” 

“I’m sorry.  I wish I had known.”

“Yeah.  Maybe if I had known how you felt I would have told you how I felt.”  Jean-Luc kissed her hair and pulled her in closer.  “It’s in the past now.  I’m here now.  _We’re_ here now.”

“Yeah, we are,” she smiled and closed her eyes. 

###

Wesley woke up in the morning with his stomach rumbling.  He wondered if he could have pancakes and decided to ask his uncle if he could make them, because his were better than the ones his mommy made.  He swung his legs out of bed and grabbed his teddy and padded into the hallway.  His uncle’s room was empty, but he heard soft snoring coming from his mommy’s room.  He slowly opened the door and glanced inside.  He saw his mommy and his uncle fast asleep and he crawled into bed on the other side of his uncle and rested his little head against his uncle’s shoulder.  Jean-Luc stirred and opened his eyes long enough to see Wesley, and wrapped his arm around the boy to hold him close as they drifted back to sleep.


End file.
